When I first saw Jacques Tati, the tall French comedian (mime and film maker) in Mr Hulot's Holiday, I nearly gagged from laughing too hard. And my head really hurt, too. Besides bumbling around uncounciously causing hilarious chain reactions, Hulot when he moved into a room always got to a wall or piece of furniture in mid-stride as if the architecture had just shrank.

Don't know if Geoff is 'over 6 feet' like I, but nothing in the Ariel ever fit me either, not the setees, berths, narrow companionway and too short, head-banging in the cabin, or when the boat was rigged the boom seemed way too low, the tiller banged my knees, the lower shrouds almost took my ears off. Nothing. One day when I'm down there obsessing arouind I expect to break into an unadulterated fit of wet-eyed laughter and I will truly know just what the hell I'm supposed to be doing in this half pint swedish comedy. Just keep banging my head and smiling.